NEWBA Announces Weekly Awards for Feb. 13

Heather LeBlanc
Norwich University
Senior • Forward • Sanford, Maine

Senior forward Heather LeBlanc of Norwich University is the Presto Sports NEWBA Player of the Week for games played from February 6-12. LeBlanc averaged 19.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 66.7% from the field and 85.7% from the free throw line in a 1-1 week for the Cadets. After posting 21 points and 16 rebounds in a win at Mount Holyoke on Wednesday, she recorded 17 points and seven boards, including the 1000th of her career, on Saturday in a setback at Johnson & Wales. LeBlanc is currently ranked ninth in NCAA Division III among active players with 1,006 boards, and she becomes the fifth player in Great Northeast Athletic Conference history to score at least 1,000 points and reel in as many rebounds.

Mya Villard
Eastern Connecticut State University
Freshman • Forward • Cromwell, Conn.

Freshman forward Mya Villard of Eastern Connecticut State University earns NEWBA Co-Rookie of the Week honors after averaging 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in a 2-0 week as the Warriors clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Little East Conference Tournament. In an 80-62 road win over UMass Dartmouth, ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Northeast Region, Villard had 12 points, four assists and four rebounds, hitting four of eight field goals and all four free throws. She followed that up by scoring 16 points (shooting 6-of-9 from the floor) with seven rebounds in a 57-52 home win over Western Connecticut.

Lexie Hamilton
Colby-Sawyer College
Freshman • Guard • Sunapee, N.H.

Freshman guard Lexie Hamilton of Colby-Sawyer College garners NEWBA Co-Rookie of the Week recognition after helping lead the Chargers to a 3-0 week. She averaged 15 points, 4.7 assists, 3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. The freshman began action with 15 points and six assists in a 71-38 victory over Johnson State. She then made 8-of-11 shots, including 4-for-4 from three-point range, for 22 points with five assists in a 73-38 win at UMaine-Farmington. Hamilton ended the week with eight points, three assists and four steals in a gritty 54-50 win at Thomas. 

• Amanda Beatty, Castleton (Jr., F, Williston, Vt.) -  Beatty continued her strong play to help Castleton win both road games over the past weekend. On Friday at Maine Maritime, she scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field, while also pulling down six rebounds. The next day against NAC-leading Husson, Beatty went 8-of-14 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line for 24 points to go with six rebounds in Castleton's victory. For the week, she averaged 26.0 points on 62.5% shooting and 6.0 rebounds per game.
• Kennedy Guest-Pritchett, Smith (So., F, Fairburn, Ga.) - In a 2-0 week for the Pioneers, Guest-Pritchett averaged a double-double of 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while also adding 2.0 steals per contest. In a 67-42 win over Wellesley, the sophomore forward finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds. The Fairburn, Georgia native added 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 28 minutes of work in a 61-49 victory over Wheaton. Guest-Pritchett shot 55.2 percent from the field over the two games.
• Rajeen Mayo, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Jr., G, Middletown, Conn.) - Mayo averaged 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals, while shooting 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the floor and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the charity stripe in a 1-1 week. The Middletown, Conn. product opened the week pouring in a career-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added six rebounds, four steals and three assists to her stat line in a road setback at Mount Ida on Tuesday. Mayo then followed it up with another strong performance, netting 17 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists in a 69-56 victory over Anna Maria at home on Saturday.
• Jordyn Nappi, Eastern Connecticut State (Sr., G, Southington, Conn.) - Nappi helped Eastern clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Little East Conference Tournament for the third straight year by averaging 21.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two Little East wins for the Warriors. In an 80-62 road win over UMass Dartmouth, which clinched the top seed Saturday, Nappi recorded her fifth 20+ point game of the season, leading the team in scoring for the 14th time in 23 games. She had 24 points on 8-of-16 field goals and was 4-of-8 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the foul line to improve her LEC-leading percentage to 81.0.
• Taylor V'Dovec, MIT (So., G, Blaine, Wash.) - In a 2-0 week for MIT, V'Dovec averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and shot 82.4 percent from the floor. She scored 20 points, including 18 in the second half, while shooting 8-of-9 from the floor, grabbing six rebounds, and tallying three blocks in 23 minutes of a 65-51 win over Clark last Wednesday. V'Dovec followed that up with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and produced nine rebounds to go along with two blocks in a 68-30 win over Mount Holyoke on Saturday.